Search This Blog

Truck Accident Fatalities Increased in 2012 for Third Consecutive Year

The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released new traffic
statistics today for 2012. According
to the Truck Safety Coalition, truck crash fatalities increased for the
third consecutive year. In 2012, truck accident deathsincreased by nearly four percent. The statistics also indicate that
truck occupant fatalities increased by roughly nine percent, indicating that
truck accidents are deadly for the occupants of all vehicles. Due to the
economic recovery, trucking companies are putting more trucks on the road,
moving more freight, and as a result increasing the potential for trucking
accidents.

Despite
a rise in truck
accident fatalities, the trucking industry continues to push for an
increase in the maximum number of hours a trucker may operate without rest and
to allow larger payloads for truckers to haul. Currently, truck drivers are
allowed to drive for 11 hours out of a 14 hour work day, and they routinely
work more than 70 hours in a week. Safety advocates like the Truck Safety
Coalition have long opposed longer hours of service for truck drivers because
truck driver fatigue is a contributing factor in too many truck accidents. The
Truck Safety Coalition has also opposed the trucking industry push to allow
heavier trucks on America's highways, asserting that bigger, heavier, trucks
cause deadlier accidents.

With truck accident deaths on the rise, it is
critical that organizations like the Truck Safety Coalition receive support in
their efforts to address truck safety issues.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Six people died on May 13, 2019, in a collision between two
floatplanes in Alaska that has safety experts cautioning passengers about small
aircraft. Alaska has been the site of three fatal small plane crashes in just
over one week, in addition to several across the US in recent months, highlighting
the many safety issues concerning small planes. Experts say the problem
lies in having fewer regulations over smaller, privately owned aircraft
compared with commercial airlines. Floatplanes Carrying Tourists
Both floatplanes involved in the collision carried tourists
from a Princess Cruises ship on a stopover in Ketchikan, Alaska. One of the
companies offered an excursion sold through Princess Cruises, while the other
was independently provided. The tourists were being taken to Ketchikan from the
Misty Fjords National Monument area at around 12:21 pm local time when the two
small planes—both float-equipped—collided at approximately 3,350 feet.
Bodies of 2 missing after Alaska float plane…

Hundreds of
passengers aboard a Viking Ocean Cruises ship experienced a dramatic rescue by
helicopter, with several later hospitalized, when the Viking Sky suffered
engine failure in the middle of incredibly stormy seas. Passengers told
reporters about their harrowing ordeals, either of being airlifted off the
listing ship in the darkness or remaining onboard and praying the vessel did
not sink. Officials are now questioning why the ship was in the sea at all,
given warnings about stormy weather, and how multiple engines failed at the
same time. Given the
number of people onboard the Viking Sky when its engines failed, it is
incredibly lucky that there were not more severe injuries, a common concern in boating accidents. What
Happened on the Viking Sky? On March
14, the Viking Sky cruise ship began a 12-day voyage from the city of Bergen,
in Norway. After it left the city of Tromso, on its way to Stavanger, the
ship's four engines shut down as the vessel encountered a massive storm…